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Review
'The Sisters Brothers confirms deWitt as one of the most talented young writers around' --Sunday Times
'Superb ... deWitt has ensured another unforgettable pair their place in fictive lore' --Sunday Telegraph
'so good, so funny and so sad' --Irish Times
`A stylistically impressive, darkly comic reworking of the traditional western' --Metro
'A witty noir Don Quixote ... A blackly comic fable about emptiness, lonliness and the hollow lure of gold'
--Financial Times
'gripping and heart-wrenching' --Guardian
`Wonderfully funny and original' --Spectator
'The Sisters Brothers is intermittently moving, consistently very funny, and above all, original' --New Statesman
'A powerfully realized work ... the dialogue is sharp as a whip' --Times Literary Supplement
'A masterclass on the twists of the mind and heart'
--Scotsman
'A stunningly accomplished book ... deWitt is on his way to greatness' --Dazed & Confused
`Bursting with vitality and driven along by a terrific pulpy energy' --Herald
'A lyrical homage to the classic western ... this has the makings of a cult outrider' --Time Out
'deWitt's book is inventive and has a smart line in dark humour' --Observer
`Extremely well written and very funny' --Big Issue
'Superb ... deWitt has ensured another unforgettable pair their place in fictive lore' --Sunday Telegraph
'so good, so funny and so sad' --Irish Times
`A stylistically impressive, darkly comic reworking of the traditional western' --Metro
'A witty noir Don Quixote ... A blackly comic fable about emptiness, lonliness and the hollow lure of gold'
--Financial Times
'gripping and heart-wrenching' --Guardian
`Wonderfully funny and original' --Spectator
'The Sisters Brothers is intermittently moving, consistently very funny, and above all, original' --New Statesman
'A powerfully realized work ... the dialogue is sharp as a whip' --Times Literary Supplement
'A masterclass on the twists of the mind and heart'
--Scotsman
'A stunningly accomplished book ... deWitt is on his way to greatness' --Dazed & Confused
`Bursting with vitality and driven along by a terrific pulpy energy' --Herald
'A lyrical homage to the classic western ... this has the makings of a cult outrider' --Time Out
'deWitt's book is inventive and has a smart line in dark humour' --Observer
`Extremely well written and very funny' --Big Issue
Review
"DeWitt's exploitations of the picaresque form are striking, and he has a wonderful way of exercising his comic gifts without ever compromising the novel's gradual accumulation of darkness, disgust, and foreboding."--The Millions
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
126 of 131 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been having a run on Western stories this year - from Elmore Leonard's early stuff to Joe R.Lansdale's modernist take on east Texas. I came across The Sisters Brothers completely by chance, but the arresting title and great cover held me up, so I took a punt on it.
And what a punt it was - one of the most enjoyable books I've read for a long time...perhaps even ever. Now having finished the book, I find myself missing Charlie and Eli Sisters - gunmen for hire during the 1850s Gold Rush. We follow them to San Francisco, where they're looking to assassinate the wonderfully named `thief' Herman Kermit Warm. But, things don't always go to plan for the Sisters boys...
The strength of this story lies in the rather deadpan delivery (narrated by Eli, the more thoughtful and conflicted of the two) between the brothers. The dialogues between the two - always bickering - is wonderfully constructed and loaded with meaning. In fact, I'd say the dialogues are as good as Leonard's and that's saying something.
This is not a gunslinging western in the Louis Lamour mould - this is a really darkly comic, human story. Other reviewers have stated that it would be perfect for a Coen brother's movie, and I absolutely agree. From Charlie's constant `brandy-sickness' to Eli's fondness for a busted-up horse that hates him, it's deliciously dark and vicious in its humour.
In short, I loved it. It is a relatively short read, but it's perfectly paced and weighted. The black humour isn't over-cooked and it never descends into farce, as such books are sometimes wont to do. I can't recommend this highly enough - I'd love to see it done justice on the big screen and it's one of the best couple of quid I've ever spent.
And what a punt it was - one of the most enjoyable books I've read for a long time...perhaps even ever. Now having finished the book, I find myself missing Charlie and Eli Sisters - gunmen for hire during the 1850s Gold Rush. We follow them to San Francisco, where they're looking to assassinate the wonderfully named `thief' Herman Kermit Warm. But, things don't always go to plan for the Sisters boys...
The strength of this story lies in the rather deadpan delivery (narrated by Eli, the more thoughtful and conflicted of the two) between the brothers. The dialogues between the two - always bickering - is wonderfully constructed and loaded with meaning. In fact, I'd say the dialogues are as good as Leonard's and that's saying something.
This is not a gunslinging western in the Louis Lamour mould - this is a really darkly comic, human story. Other reviewers have stated that it would be perfect for a Coen brother's movie, and I absolutely agree. From Charlie's constant `brandy-sickness' to Eli's fondness for a busted-up horse that hates him, it's deliciously dark and vicious in its humour.
In short, I loved it. It is a relatively short read, but it's perfectly paced and weighted. The black humour isn't over-cooked and it never descends into farce, as such books are sometimes wont to do. I can't recommend this highly enough - I'd love to see it done justice on the big screen and it's one of the best couple of quid I've ever spent.
57 of 60 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first heard about The Sisters Brothers when it recently made it onto the Man Booker Longlist - perversely enough, it was all the mutterings about it not being a suitable nominee plus some irresistible cover lust which made me even keener to read it.
Firstly, a word of warning...this is not a pretty novel, it's set back in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush when men were men and horses didn't have whisperers. There are scenes of cruelty, to both animals and humans, so best to move on if this would detract from your reading enjoyment.
It is 1851, the Californian Gold Rush is in full swing and our narrator, Eli Sisters, hired killer, is accompanying his older brother Charlie on an eventful journey from Oregon to Sacramento, to track down and kill one Hermann Kermit Warm. Their quest has an epic feel to it as they encounter a range of wild and wonderful characters en route, think Don Quixote meets the Coen and Blues Brothers with a dash of Cormac Mc Carthy thrown in for good measure. Yet, it doesn't seem derivative and ends up being a really fresh, original piece of work - defying categorisation.
Eli is a psychopath with a (slight) conscience and therein lies the conflict between the brothers. Even as he relates their latest killing in his usual deadpan tone, you know his heart is no longer in it and he longs for a different life, even suggesting opening a store - Charlie is not particularly open to the idea... Their story is compelling but unsettling, dark but humorous and so cinematic, you can just visualise their adventures rolling onto the big screen.
A very special novel which will entertain a wide range of readers including those biblio-butterflies who like a change of genre every now and then.
Firstly, a word of warning...this is not a pretty novel, it's set back in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush when men were men and horses didn't have whisperers. There are scenes of cruelty, to both animals and humans, so best to move on if this would detract from your reading enjoyment.
It is 1851, the Californian Gold Rush is in full swing and our narrator, Eli Sisters, hired killer, is accompanying his older brother Charlie on an eventful journey from Oregon to Sacramento, to track down and kill one Hermann Kermit Warm. Their quest has an epic feel to it as they encounter a range of wild and wonderful characters en route, think Don Quixote meets the Coen and Blues Brothers with a dash of Cormac Mc Carthy thrown in for good measure. Yet, it doesn't seem derivative and ends up being a really fresh, original piece of work - defying categorisation.
Eli is a psychopath with a (slight) conscience and therein lies the conflict between the brothers. Even as he relates their latest killing in his usual deadpan tone, you know his heart is no longer in it and he longs for a different life, even suggesting opening a store - Charlie is not particularly open to the idea... Their story is compelling but unsettling, dark but humorous and so cinematic, you can just visualise their adventures rolling onto the big screen.
A very special novel which will entertain a wide range of readers including those biblio-butterflies who like a change of genre every now and then.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I was sold on this book being a dark comedy and although it is a wonderfully entertaining read (no doubt about that), the comedy aspect did not have me laughing out loud like the fabulous dark comedies of Tom Sharpe's Wilt or Tony Royden's The Dealer. So if it's belly laughs you are after, maybe best you look elsewhere.
The Sisters Brothers is written in such a way that every chapter is a tale within itself and so I found the book was easily put-downable (suitable to my lifestyle), but each chapter was enjoyable and was all relevant to the overall story. I really liked the that it was set in the in the background of the wild west (something new to the books I have been reading). Charlie and Eli Sisters are likeable rogues and I enjoyed narrative between them. I agree with other reviewers that The Sisters Brothers does have a Coen Brothers film feel to it.
If you like the occasional western with a deadpan since of humour, then this book is well worth considering.
The Sisters Brothers is written in such a way that every chapter is a tale within itself and so I found the book was easily put-downable (suitable to my lifestyle), but each chapter was enjoyable and was all relevant to the overall story. I really liked the that it was set in the in the background of the wild west (something new to the books I have been reading). Charlie and Eli Sisters are likeable rogues and I enjoyed narrative between them. I agree with other reviewers that The Sisters Brothers does have a Coen Brothers film feel to it.
If you like the occasional western with a deadpan since of humour, then this book is well worth considering.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great but disturbing
I will immediately confess to being a bit wet when it comes to reading about animals and bad things happening to them. Read more
Published 2 days ago by cut2quick
Gritty Insight into the West
Fantastic read which keeps you gripped throughout which tells the story of The great American West, without any of the Hollywood glamour. Well worth a read. Read more
Published 3 days ago by becky m
Loved it!
Nothing to add. Just wanted to give it 5 stars because it merits it (and I don't think many books do). If anyone can recommend similar great reads, I'd love to hear about them.
Published 5 days ago by Kindler
Decent story, lifted by an interesting milieu and fun characters.
An amusing and well-written novel, The Sister Brothers tells the story of two murderous mercenaries during the Californian gold rush. Read more
Published 7 days ago by Rupan M
FAB read
A book club choice and maybe one that I would never have chosen but so glad I read it what a great book. Read more
Published 12 days ago by H. Ramshaw
An excellent, readable book
This is a wonderful book, even straight from the title (Eli and Charlie have the surname "Sisters" and are brothers). Eli is our narrator and he has an unusual, quirky voice. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Tinhead
Loved it ...yee haaa
The moral ambiguity in the novel made me uneasy, in that you may find yourself wanting the brothers to escape justice, despite the terrible crimes they have committed for money,... Read more
Published 18 days ago by KAT.A
Cracking!!!!
What a brilliantly original book! Coen brothers through and through, I loved it! The characters, and especially the stories of the horses, poor horses :-((
Published 18 days ago by Ms. M. L. Kellett
Thank you, The Wife. And BBC2 "The Review Show"
Thanks to my Wife for watching The Review Show and advising me to go for this very affordable Kindle version of The Sisters Brothers. Read more
Published 19 days ago by S. Corbett
Pleasantly surprised that I liked it
A western is probably one of the last type of books I would ever read, but I found myself going back to look at this book several times and based on the great reviews I decided to... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Michael63
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